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We have made a few updates to the site. These include some small edits to the rules, two additions to the rules, and one significant changes to the rules. If you have questions or comments about these updates, feel free to post them in constructive replies here.

 

SMALL EDITS

 

TRADING AND SELLING

 

We don’t allow discussions about selling or trading, a rule intended to avoid the drama when a trade/sale goes wrong. The only exception to this is that members are allowed to use their signatures to identify when they have something they’re either willing to or looking for in a trade or sale. The exception was separated from the rule prohibiting trade/sale discussions. That exception has now been moved to the trade/sale section.

 

PMs AND EMAIL CONTENT

 

While the rules identified that members are not allowed to use the Private Messenger (PM) and email functions to send inappropriate content, they only indicated that members would be punished for using the PM function in such a manner, omitting email. That omission has been corrected and it should now be clear that members using the PM or email functions inappropriately may be subject to disciplinary action.

 

ADDITIONS

 

PRINCIPLES

 

Games Workshop made it clear that Warhammer is for everyone, and those principles of diversity and inclusivity were reiterated here. Those principles have been added to the rules immediately beneath the mission statement.

 

PREFERRED PRONOUNS

 

A practice that is becoming more and more common is for individuals to identify the pronouns by which they would like to be referred. We used to have a custom field by which members could identify their gender. We recently removed that field because one’s gender [identity] is irrelevant here at the Bolter & Chainsword. Realistically, who we are on the other side of the screen is irrelevant. Members’ personas are largely built upon their chosen display name, their avatar, and the content they post (including their signature, About Me page, and their posts). Most members will build a mental image of a member based on what they see on the screen. For all you know, I’m a woman in her mid-forties living in India, but I come across as an American male (age indeterminate, but probably really young based on my immaturity :wink: ) – American because of the times I’m normally on the site and some of the avatars I use, male because of my display name and avatar. An unintended consequence of removing the gender field is that members don’t have a reference for how to refer to other members in terms of pronouns. For most members, the pronouns used to refer to them are inconsequential. Some members, however, desire to be identified not by their screen persona, but by their real persona, or at least by the gender by which they identify.

 

To facilitate this, we’ve created the Pronoun identifier. Members may identify the pronouns by which they would like to be referred. To prevent shenanigans, the choices are in a drop-down list – some people strongly disagree with the concept of preferred pronouns and a free text field would afford some of them the opportunity to ridicule the concept. We’ve populated that drop down list with the range of options that we found at multiple credible websites. If you believe that list is insufficient, please contact the administrators and provide links to multiple credible websites that support your argument for additions. Members’ Pronoun choices will appear in their profile, both the full screen version and the abbreviated version to the left of their posts.

 

IMPORTANT: Identification of one’s preferred pronouns is a request. While most members will use those pronouns, some will not. Sometimes this can be attributed to accident (members using pronouns out of habit or assumption), but sometimes this is because someone disagrees with the concept of preferred pronouns. If someone refers to you using pronouns other than those that you have requested, you may contact them and politely ask them to edit their post(s). No one, however, will be compelled to use preferred pronouns – we won’t force them to edit, the moderators and administrators will not edit their pronouns, and disciplinary action won’t be invoked simply for using other pronouns. Discipline will only be invoked for use of non-preferred pronouns if that usage is clearly disrespectful and/or if it is coupled with other disrespectful behaviors.

 

That said, we encourage members to use the pronouns that members identify. An alternative is to simply use a member’s display name.

 

Note that members don’t have to identify preferred pronouns. The first choice in the drop-down list is blank. If you choose that option, the Pronoun field will not appear in your profile and people will use whatever pronouns seem appropriate based on the persona you’ve developed and/or assumption (the demographics of this hobby, after all, lean heavily towards more members being male unless something indicates otherwise).

 

CHANGE

 

ANNOUNCING BANS

 

We will now announce when members are banned for a pattern of misbehavior.

 

First, some clarity on the language. Many members use a variety of terms including “perma-ban,” “temp-ban,” etc. In the language of the site (i.e., the software and the rules) there is banning and suspension. Banning is permanent and means that the member is no longer allowed to participate at the site through the creation of content (e.g., creating topics, posting replies, editing posts, uploading images, uploading files, etc.). Banning is usually the result of a pattern of misbehavior and indicators that the member will continue to violate the rules and standards of the site. Suspension, meanwhile, is temporary. Suspensions last for varying time periods, increasing as a member accrues more warnings. While suspended, a member may not create content (as identified above). Suspensions are often referred to as “temp-bans” and other terms. We will not be announcing when members are suspended (there may be rare exceptions to this).

 

With regard to disciplinary action, we follow the practice of “public praise, private reprimand.” In this, we generally don’t announce when we take disciplinary action against individuals. There have been a few exceptions to this over the years, usually when a member has made an issue public and we have felt compelled to provide an explanation. For the most part, however, discipline is kept private between the violating member(s) and the staff. Members may notice when posts are removed or edited, and the occasional guidance is given to stop certain behaviors, and these are a form of discipline, but aren’t covered under the private reprimand clause. Whether or not warning points are issued, how many warning points are issued, and additional elements of discipline such as suspension, moderator preview, etc., however, are private between the violating member and the staff. The theory here is that discipline, while punitive in nature, is primarily intended to be rehabilitative – the goal is to correct behaviors to remain consistent with the standards and expectations of the community. Publicly shaming people often has the opposite effect, hence our preference for private communications in terms of discipline. This allows a member to correct their behaviors and to save face, hopefully remaining a valued member of the community.

 

Some members, unfortunately, refuse to adjust their behaviors. They continue to participate in a disruptive manner, degrading the sense of community. Note that there is a distinction between one’s behavior and one’s opinion. People aren’t punished for having certain points of view. The problem arises when the manner in which one expresses one’s opinion is not constructive or respectful of others. Having an unpopular, even controversial, opinion on an issue is not a matter for discipline. In fact, having a different opinion and expressing that opinion in a constructive manner is essential to healthy discussion, ensuring that we don’t become an echo chamber. When one expresses an opinion in a disruptive or disrespectful manner, however, the matter becomes disciplinary. Members that continually participate in such a manner will be disciplined and, if they don’t correct their behavior, will be banned.

 

Announcing bans for repeated misbehavior is intended to accomplish several things:

  • Inform the community in order to answer questions about why a member is no longer participating
  • Demonstrate that the rules are enforced, even though members don’t always notice the effects
  • Serve as an object lesson to other members, hopefully motivating them to self-correct
Announcements of bans will appear in the News, Rumors, and Board Announcement forum. These announcements will be pinned for a short period of time in order to give visibility, but will be locked to prevent replies and discussion. While some people may be pleased by the removal of certain members, we don’t feel these are occasions for celebration. Rather, they are unfortunate situations. The community, after all, is strengthened by having members with diverse viewpoints. If you have any questions or comments about banned members, you may contact the administrators by PM.

 

Once again, if you have questions or comments about these updates, feel free to post them in constructive replies here.

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+++This thread has been locked and posts removed due to non 40k related discussion. We the Moderation Team have already rigorously debated the site changes so you don't have to.+++

 

Please continue to enjoy your hobby your own way, and please continue to show the awesome levels of respect that we do to other Frater whilst here on the Bolter and Chainsword.

Edited by Interrogator Stobz
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